Fluid-pressure controller



I Mar. 6, 1923. 1,447,285

E. N. DOLLIN FLUID PRESSURE CONTROLLER' Filed July 25, 1919 5sheets-sheet l E. N. DOLLEN FLUID PRESSURE CONTROLLER Mar. 6, 1923.

. 1,447,285 E. N. DOLLIN FLUID PRESSURE CONTROLLER Filed July 25, 1919 5sheets-sheet 5 may PUM P Patented Mar. 6, 1923.

" UNITED A STATES PATENT emu."

v EDGAR N. DOLLIN', OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

rLum-rnEssunE CONTROLLER.

Application filed T111723, 1919. Serial No. 312,848

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR N. DoLLIN, of

' Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the ton motors and other usesin which it is de-v sired to apply a relatively higher power or force atcertain intervals than at other 1ntervals in the performance of specificwork such for example, as the operation of a mold holder or die-carriageof die-casting ma-- chines in which a greater power or'forceis requiredto hold the mold in operative position to receive the moltenmetal, asthe lat ter is forced ther'einto under relatively higher pressure thanthat required to move the'mold to and from its receiving position. v

In devices of this character, it is customary to exhaust the entirepressure fluid t the atmosphere during such operation w hich requiresthe restoration of the full power before such operation can be repeated,and results, not only in an unnecessary use and considerable loss ofpower, but also renders the operation of the movable element of themotor, such as a piston, more or less impulsive and unstable so thatwhen used in die-casting machines it is liable to produce certainimperfections or breakages in the castings.

On the other hand, it is well known that the action of the movableelement of a fluid pressure operated motor is greatly steadied by theapplication of some pressure, even though, unequal, to opposite sides or"ends thereof; and the main object of my present invention is to notonly produce a great saving of power and time in the performance of workadapted to be done by fluid pressure, but also to obtain a steadieraction of the fluid operated element of the motor, and at the same timeto permit the application of greater power at certain intervals than atother intervals in. the performance of the work, and particularly at theconclusion of the stroke of the piston in die-casting.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the controller willbe brought out in the following description.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a ongitudinal sectional view of a piston motor and inyimproved'controller mounted thereon adjusted to shift the piston fromright to left.

Figure 2 is a sectional View of the controller taken in the plane ofline 22 Figure 1. i

Figure 3 is a sectional View of'the same controller and adjacent portionof the motor except that the piston has been shifted to the left handend of the cylinder and that the valve is adjusted to apply the maximumpower to the piston as it approaches or reaches the limit of its forwardstroke.

Figure 4 .is a sectional view of the controller taken in the plane ofline Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional View similar to Figure 4 except that the valveis adjusted to cause the return of themotor piston.

Figure 6 is .a longitudinal sectional View,

of the controller taken in the plane of line 6-6 Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view of the motor and its controller togetherwith means for supplying the fluid under pressure to the controller andmotor.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I -have shown myimproved controller in connection with a. piston motor which may .beused to perform various kinds of work, as for example, the. operation ofa mold holder of a die-casting machine, (not shown) but it isevident'that the same controller may be used for many purposes otherthan the operation of machinery, as for example, in producing variablefluid pressures in sequence.

To this end, the controller comprises a valve case ,1 containing, inthis inthe cylinder ,A, and is provided with a piston rod b extendingoutwardly through a gland b' in one end of said cylinder for connectionwith the mold forming any other work to which it may be adapted.

The case 1 is also provided with a pair of diametrically oppositerelatively high pressure and low pressure ports '-4- and 4-- disposed ina plane at right anglesto that of the ports 3 and 3', both of which arein constant communication with a valve chamber -2"- in which the valve-2 is movable.

The valve chamber -2'v is preferably circular or cylindrical while'itsinner end wall is substantially flat to form an abut ment against whichthe inner, end of the valve 2- is seated, said valve bein also circularor cylindrical and rotatable 1n the chamber, its inner end beingsubstantially flat and seate'd against the inner end wall of the chamber2, and is provided with an annular flange of substantially the samediameter as that of the chamber so as to fit snugly therein, theremaining portions of the valve bein reduced in diameter and extendedoutwar ly through the open end of the chamber -2'.

' A cap-ring is secured by bolts -7- to the outer end face of the mainbody of the valve case 1- and is provided with an annular shoulder -8extending slightly beyond the adjacent peripheral walls of the chamber2'- and fitting snugly upon the periphery of the adjacent portions ofthe valve 2--, the outer face of said flange being V-shaped to form aseat for a packing ring r9-- which is held in place by a gland -10 alsosurrounding and engaging the periphery of the valve, said gland beingadjustably secured to the cap ring 6 by bolts -l1.

The flanges 5 and 8- are spaced some distance apart to form anintervening annular chamber 12 which is a part of the valve chamber -2T-and const-itutes what may be termed a. distributing chamber extendingentirely around the valve.

The port -'4 extends radially directly into the distributing chamber 12and is connected by a pipe -13- to a high pressure source of fluidsupply, such as a tank ,-14 or high pressure pump 15, although, in thediagrammatic viewshown in Figure 7, both the tank and/the pump are shownas. connected toeach other by a The diametrically opposite port 4,extends radially to the center of the case where it communicates with anaxially extending passage -16- which is in constant communication with acentral passage 17- in the base of the valve -2, the outer end of saidport 4' being connected by a pipe -18- to a relatively low pressuresource of fluid supply consisting of a tank 19 or a low pressure pump'20,' although, the latter is shown in the diagrammatic view in Figure 7as connected tothe pressure tank=-19' by means of a pipe -18. r

If air is used for the pressure fluid, it is taken into the pump --20 atatmos heric pressure and compressed to a higher egree of say one hundredpounds per square inch which is maintained in the tank -19- and its pipeline leading to the port 4'-.

The pump 15,, however, is adapted to receive the pressure fluid under anincreased pressure considerably above that of the atmosphere, and asillustrated in the diagrammatic view, Figure 7, its intake is connectedby a pipe ,-21 to the tank 1, and therefore the pump i5 receives the airunder pressure ofapproximately one hundred pounds per' square inch, andis operated to boost that pressure to say an additional one hundredpounds per square inch or to approximately two hundred pounds per squareinch in the tank 14 and it pipe line leading to the port -4:-.

It is now evident that two distinctly unequal pressures aboveatmospheric pressure are maintained in the ports -1-- and 4-, as forexample, two hundred pounds pressure in the port #4: and one hundredpounds pressure in the port 4--, both' pressures being employed toperform certain work, such as the operation of the piston -A' ascontrolled by the valve hereinafter more full described.

' The inner end wal of the valve chamber 2' is provided with a pair ofdiametrically opposite axial ports -22 and -22' at equal distances fromthe axis of said valve chamber and at opposite sides of thecentral port-1G, and serve to connect the valve chamber with the inner ends ofradial passages 23- and '23 which are formed in the valve case 1- andhave their outer ends communicating with the ports -3-- and 3',,respectively, as shown more clearly in Figures 1 and 3, said valve casebeing also provided with an axially extending passage -24-- between thecentral port --16 and the port --22'- for connecting the valve chamberwith an atmospheric chamber 25, Figures 1, 3 and 6, which in turncommunicates with the atmosphere through a radial passage -26 from oneside of the chamber 25.

The valve 2 is provided with a series of (in this instance, s'ix) ports;'27--, 2 s--, 29- -30 31 and 32- arranged sequentiallyin substantiallyequal spaced relation about the axis of the valve, the port -28- forminga. circumferentially extending continuation of the port -27- whichtogether with the port -2) open through the periphery of the valve.

The ports -30- and 32 are connected to each other and to the centralport 17 by a common chamber 33 and are, therefore, in constantcommunication with the lower pressure port 4' through the centralpassage 16 in the valve case -1+ while the intermediate port 31 isconnected by a radial passage -34-- to an at mosphere port -35- which ismovable into and out of registration with the atmosphere port -24- inthe valve case -1' Figure 3 as the valve is'moved to. differentpositions presently described. The ports -27-, 2e 29-, -30-; -31 and 3aall open through the inner end face of the valve, but there is no directcommunication between the ports 30, -31, and --32- and thecircumferential chamber -12 and in view of the fact that the first namedports are arranged 'circumferentially in sequence at an angle ofsubstantially 60 to each other,-

the valve may be operated through the, medium of a suitable handle 36 tocontrol'the pressure fiuid as 'follows;

Assuming, for example, that the piston A" is to be operated byfluidpressure as air to perform some-useful work. and that it has justreached the-limit 0t its'st'roketoward the right hand ready to begin itsforward -or working stroke, then the valve -2 willibe. adjusted rotarilyfrom a'certainposition which, for convenience of description, will betermed the starting position shown in Fig. 5, through an arc of 60 or tothe position shown in Fig. 2 in which the diametrically opposite ports-27- and --30- will be registered respectively with the ports 22 and 22'leading to the cylinder ports .a and a' through the passages 23 and 23'at which time the ports 29, 31, and -32- will be cut off fromcommunication with the ports 22 and -22'. When the valve is in thisposition,

the high pressure fluid, I will say two hundred pounds to thesquareinch, entering the inlet port 4 and circumferential chamber 12-communicating therewith, passes through ports 27, -"22-, and into theright hand end of the cylinder A-- to exert'a correspondingpressure'upon the piston --A to move it toward theport' a-' while thelow fluid pressure, of say I bne hundred pounds, per square inch.enter-' ing the port 4'-- passes through the. 'cen-- tral ports 16-' and17 into the chamber 33- and thence to the registering.

ports v--3() and --22 andport -a' into the left hand end of thecylinder, thus producing a corresponding pressure in opposition to thatat the opposite end of the piston, that is .while the pressures atopposite ends of the piston are considerably above atmospheric pressure,that at the'right hand end is considerably greater than that at the lefthand end and causes the piston to move through its workingstroke orto'the position shown in Fig. 3. Y

When the piston is used for the operation of a die casting mold to andfrom the outlet of the melting chamber to receive the molten metal whichis usually. discharged? under high. pressure, it is necessary to holdthe piston actuated mold support against such pressure with a forceconsiderabl greater than that required to move the mold. support to andfrom the work. a

Under these conditio'ns the valve is again counter pressure upon thepiston. port a, Fig 1, I

That is, when the valve is adjusted to the position shown in Fig. theair under the relatively low pressure, .in this instance, one

hundred pounds, per square inch, at the left hand of the piston, Fig.3,'is free'to escapethrough-the passages a. 3 and.

-23' in the cylinder and valve case -1. and thence-through the port 31-and passage 34, and atmosphere port -35 to the atmosphere chamber -25whence it escapes to the atmosphere at 26, figure 6 and thereby usingthe full air pressure. inv this instance two hundred pounds persquareinch, to'be exerted upon the right hand end of the piston asdistinguished from the previous net pressure of one hundred pounds,- thedifference between the two opposlng pressures, it being understood thatwhen the valve port -31- is registered with the port 22. the port 27--is receiving the higher pressure from the chamber 12- through the ports-27 and 28-, which later is then in communication with the port 22 andthrough the passage 23 with the cylinder port -a-.-, and that the ports29-, 30,

and -32. are cut oil' from communication with the cylinder ports.

Now, in order to restore the piston and the parts operated thereby totheir normal positions, the valve is returned to its start- -1ngposition shown in Fig. 5 so that the ports 32- and '29 will registerrespectively with the ports 22 and 22' and the same time cut offcommunication with the port -35 and the atmosphere and also between theports -27 28. 30, anl 31 and the cylinder ports.

through the central passages 16 and 17 into the chamber -33- and thencethrough the registeringports 32 and --2-2' and passages 23-, 3, and ainto the right hand end of the cylinder, the higher pressureat the lefthand end of the cylinderxserving to return the piston to its startingposition shown in Fig. 1.

' Although I have shown and described a specific form of rotary valveand valve case for-controlling the passage of air through the deliveryports as --aand --a under different pressures both greater thanatmospheric pressure for effecting. the operation of a piston, it is tobe understood that'I do not limit myself to that particular type ofvalve and valve case nor to the particular work performed by thedifierent air pressures but rather contemplate the use of any suitablemechanism by which a fluid under pressure may be delivered throughseparate ports under diilerent pressures above atmospheric pressure insuch manner that the lower pressure fluid may be returned to the intakeof the higher pressure,

producing device without material reduction of such lower pressure sothat the work of the higher pressure producing device in boosting thelower pressure is reduced to an amount corresponding to such lowerpressure except for the negligible losses by leakage and temperaturechanges.

The operation briefly described is as follows. The atmospheric air isdrawn through the i'ntake of the low pressure pump --20 and delivered ata higher pressure to the tank 19 and thence through the pipe 18 andports.:4'--, 16- and -17-' to the chamber 33 said low pressure air beingalso delivered from the tank 19 through the pipe -21 to the intake ofthe high pressure .pump -15- where it is boosted to a stall higherpressure and delivered to the tank -14- through the pipe -,13'-- andthence through the pipe 13 and port 1 to the chamber -12-. Now, assumingthat the valve is adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 5 then the highpressure port 4- will be in communication with the left hand port -a'--Figs. 1

and 3 while the low pressure port 4'' will be in communication with theright hand port -w-.

By shifting the valve to the position shown in Fig. 2 the pressures atthe ports -a-- and -a will be reversed and then by again shifting thevalve to the position shown in Fig. 4, the low pressure port will menacethat the variable pressures at t e ports aand a may be utilized fproperating the same member in reverse directions or for performing workupon difierent devices and,'therefore, I do not limit myself to the use.to which these diflerential pressures may be applied. The ports -l-- and-4'-- through which the power fluid is adapted to circulate may betermed the power or pressure ports while the ports -3- and --3'- throughwhich the fluid passes to perform the work or service may be termed theworking or service ports.

What I claim is 1. A fluid pressure controlling mechanism havingpressure ports and separate service ports, means for maintaining unequalressures above atmospheric pressure at oth of the pressure ports,respectively and means for simultaneously connecting either of thepressure ports with one of the service ports and the other pressure portwith the other service port.

2. A fluid pressure controlling mechanism having pressure ports andseparate service ports, means for producing unequal pressures aboveatmospheric pressure'at both of the pressure ports, respectively. andmeans for connecting one of the pressure ports with one of the serviceports and the other pres sure port with the other service port, andmeans for venting one of. the service ports to the atmosphere withoutvarying the pressure at the other service port.

3. A fluid pressure controlling mechanism having pressure ports andseparate service ports, means for maintaining difl'erent pressuresgreater than atmospheric pressure at both of the pressure ports, andmeans for simultaneously connecting the higher presv sure port witheither of the service ports and the lower pressure port with the otherservice port.

4. A fluid ressure controlling mechanism having ahig pressure port and alow-pressure port and separate service ports, means for maintaining afluid pressure at the low pressure port greater than atmotphericpressiire, means for maintaining a fluid pressure at the high pressureport greater than that at the low pressure port, means for connectingthe sure port with one of the service ports, additional means forconnecting the low pressure port with another service port, and meansfor venting the last named service high pres-- necting the low pressureport with the otherservice port and also provided with means whenadjusted to a different position for ventmg the last named service portto the atmosphere, and additional means when in the last named positionfor cutting ofl' communication between the second named means and thelow pressure port while the first named means maintains communicationbetween the first named service port and the high pressure port.

fluid pressure controlling mechanism comprising a valve case having avalve chamher, a high-pressure port, a low pressure port and serviceports, means for carrying pressure greater than atmospheric pressure atthe low pressure port, means for carrying pressure greater than the lastnamed pressure at the high pressure port, a valve for high pressurealternately connecting the service ports with the pressure ports, saidvalve having means for closing the low pressureport and addi tionalmeans for simultaneously venting one of the service ports to theatmosphere while communication is maintained. between the port and theother service port.

7. A fluidpressure controlling mechanism comprising a valve case havinga high-pressure port, a low-pressure port and service ports, means formaintaining fluid pressure at the low pressure port greater thanatmospheric pressure, means for maintaining fluid pressure at the highpressure port greater than that at the low pressure port and a valveadjustable to one position for connecting the high pressure port withone ofthe service ports and the low pressure port with the other serviceport and to another position for cutting off communication between thelow pressure port and the last named service port and for venting saidlast named service port to the atmosphere.

8. A fluid pressure controlling mechanism comprising a valve case havingpressure ports and service ports, means for maintaining, fluid pressureat one of the pressure ports greater than atmospheric pressure,

means for maintaining fluid pressure at the other pressure port greaterthan that at the first-named pressure port, and a valve adjustable toone position for connecting the higher pressure port with one of theservice ports and the lower pressure port with the other service portand to another position for cutting ofl' communication between thelowerpressure port and the last named service port and for venting said lastnamed service port to the atmosphere, said valve being adjustable-toanother position for connecting the higher pressure port with the lastnamed service port and the lower pressure port with the first namedservice port.

9. A fluid pressure controlling mechanism comprising a valve chamberhaving pressure, supply ports and service ports, means for maintainingunequal pressures at the supply ports respectively, a valve adjustableto one position for connecting the higher pressure port toone of theservice ports and the lower pressure port to the other service portandto ariother position for connectin the higher pressure port to thelast namet l service port and the lower pressure port to the first namedservice port.

10. Afluid pressure controlling mechanism comprising a valve chamberhaving pressure supply ports and service ports, means for maintainingunequal pressures at the supply ports respectively, a valve adjustableto one position for connecting the higher pressure port to one of theservice ports and the lower pressure'port to the other service port andto another position for connecting the higher pressure port to thelastnamed service port and the-lower pressure port to the first namedservice port and to a third position for cutting off communica tionbetween the lower pressure port and both of the service ports and forventing one of the service ports to the atmosphere.

11. A fluid pressure controller having service ports and pressure ports,in combimation with a controlling member movable at will todifferentpos-itions, and means actuated by said member when moved to oneposition for simultaneously connecting one of the pressure ports withone of the service ports and the other pressure port with the otherservice port. v

12. A compressed air. circulating system having service ports, pressureports, and a source of supply for compressed air havingan intakeconnected to one of the pressure ports and an outlet connected to theother pressure port, the connection between the intake and its pressureport containin air under pressure greater than atmosp eric pressure, andmeans for connecting either pressure-port with either service port andthe other pressure port with the other service port.

13. A fluid pressure controller having service ports and pressure ports,in combination with a controlling member movable at will to differentpositions, and means actuated by said member when moved to one positionfor connecting one of the pressure ports with one of the service portsand simultaneously cutting off communication between the other pressureport and its service port and venting the last named service port to theatmosphere.

14. A fluid pressure controller having service ports and pressure ports,in combination with means for maintaining unequal pressures aboveatmospheric pressure at the pressure ports,- a controlling membermovable at will to different positions, and means actuated by saidmember when moved to one position for connecting the higher-pressureport to one of the service ports and the lower-pressure port to theother service port. 15., A fluid pressure controller having serviceports and pressure ports, in combination with means for maintainingunequal pressures above atmospheric pressure at the pressure ports, acontrolling member movable at will to different positions, and meansactuated by said member When moved to one position for connecting thehigher-pressure port with one of the service ports and forsimultaneously cutting off communication between the lower-pressure portand the other service port and venting the last named service port tothe atmosphere.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of July.1919.

' v EDGAR N. DOLLIN. VVit-nesses H. E. CHASE, N. R001.

